Pipeline repair sleeve assembly having heat sink groove

ABSTRACT

The assembly comprises a pair of semi-circular steel shells. The inner surface of one shell forms a centrally located, circular recess and a concentric groove positioned between the recess and the side edges of the shell. A flat cylindrical annular seal element is seated in and fills the recess. The element is resilient and deformable. It has concentric protruding ribs on its top and bottom surfaces. The seal element is adapted to circumscribe a leaking small hole or crack in the wall of an internally pressurized pipeline. The shells are then circumferentially clamped against the pipeline to cause the element to seal around the leak and to effect tight shell-on-pipe contact. The steel side wall of the recess confines the compressed seal element. The side edges of the shell are then welded together longitudinally and circumferentially to create a permanent pressure vessel sealing and containing the leak. The concentric groove acts as a heat sink to impede the transfer of heat from welding through the shell wall toward the seal element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application for U.S. patent Ser. No. 07/458,257 filed on Dec. 28, 1989, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,451.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a novel seal element and a repair sleeve assembly for sealing and containing a leaking aperture in the wall of an internally pressurized pipeline or other containment member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With age, buried steel transmission pipelines transporting pressurized fluid can develop defects in the pipe wall. The defect may be a corrosion pit that extends only part way through the wall and thus is still non-leaking. Or it may be an aperture extending through the wall, in which case there is an actual leak.

Up until recently, when either leaking or non-leaking defects were discovered it was the common practice to empty the line, excavate the line at the defect and encapsulate the defective span in what amounted to a containment pressure vessel welded to the line. More particularly, a pair of semi-cylindrical flanged shells, having an internal peripheral protruding seal or gasket, would be bolted onto the line to provide a full encirclement sleeve. Circumferential fillet welds would then be applied between the sleeve ends and the pipeline wall, to effect completion of the pressure vessel. A typical example of such a sleeve is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,822, issued to Rogers.

A recent development in the pipeline repair art is disclosed in Canadian Patent 1,237,682, issued to Stata and Robinson and assigned to the present applicant. This patent teaches a full encirclement reinforcement sleeve system, for non-leaking defects. The system involves creating a thick-walled cylinder at the defect. This is done by clamping semi-circular shells against the pipeline wall with known force and then welding the shells longitudinally to yield a thick-walled cylinder having uniform hoop stress.

More particularly, in accordance with this system:

A pair of semi-cylindrical shells having lapped ends are welded together at their first ends and then the free second ends are pulled together, using upstanding lugs secured to the free ends and a clamping device pulling on the lugs, to cause the shells to clamp sufficiently tightly and evenly to the line to effectively form a thick-walled cylinder;

The clamping means is hydraulically actuated. This makes it possible to monitor the amount of clamping force being applied, so that a measure of the increasing extent of hoop stress being induced in the sleeve can be determined;

The clamping means are further designed to leave the free lapped ends of the two shells accessible for longitudinal welding; and

The sleeve is welded longitudinally along the shell ends, to produce a reinforcing thick-walled cylinder.

However, the Stata and Robinson prior art system has limitations. These limitations include:

That the system is not adapted to seal a defect that is actually leaking, since welding of the sleeve ends cannot be carried out in the vicinity of an actual leak; and

That the system involves using lugs, upstanding from the shell ends, that are pulled on by the hydraulic clamping means. These lugs preclude installing an outer reinforcement sleeve over the thick-walled cylinder, if this is desired.

Still another pertinent prior art concept and means to be considered is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,802, issued to Hampton. This patent teaches a pipe patch system involving:

an annular domed seal element that is positioned against a leaking containment wall, to encircle the leak;

a steel shell that has an inwardly opening recess, so that the seal element is partly contained by the recess wall;

and use of an outer clamp means, comprising a pair of semi-circular flanged shells bolted together at the flanges, for pressing against the shell to compress the seal element against the containment wall around the leak.

Another prior art patent of interest, relating to use of annular seal elements in the context of pipeline patches, is U.S. Pat. No. 1,737,181, issued to Woodward.

In still another prior art teaching of interest, U.S. Pat. No. 2,616,736, issued to T. L. Smith, discloses forming a gasket with a ribbed surface on one side. The raised ribs are provided in a cross-hatched pattern. The concept involved is that if fluid leaks past one rib, it will be contained by the next.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention was developed to provide a repair sleeve assembly that could be applied to contain an actual leak of flammable fluid through a small crack or hole in an internally pressurized steel pipeline wall. The products of the development find particular application to a pipeline repair situation.

The repair sleeve assembly comprises:

a pair of semi-circular steel shells adapted to be clamped against the leaking containment wall to encircle it with steel-on-steel surface contact when clamped;

the inner surface of one of the shells being configured to form a central, preferably circular or oval recess, which may be annular in form, and a groove extending around the recess in outwardly spaced relation, so that it is located between the edge of the recess and the side edges of the shell; and

an annular, flat seal element formed of flexible, deformable, resilient material, said seal element being adapted to closely fit in the recess and to protrude inwardly from the inner surface of the shell--preferably the seal element has a plurality of generally concentric, spaced apart ribs protruding generally perpendicularly from its top and bottom surfaces whereby each rib extends in unbroken fashion about the periphery of the central aperture of the annular seal element.

It will be noted that the seal element is supported and contained by the recess surfaces of the shell, so that it cannot extrude laterally between the shell and pipeline. More particularly, when leaking pressurized fluid presses against the inner vertical surface of the seal element, the steel surfaces of the recess-forming shell wall prevent any significant upward or sideways escape or extrusion of the seal element. Instead, the ribs are increasingly pressed upwardly and downwardly against the sleeve and pipe wall respectively, to better seal thereagainst. In addition, the provision of a plurality of concentric ribs ensures that an outer sealing rib is available to substitute for an inner sealing rib if the latter should fail. Furthermore, the ribs are formed with sufficiently narrow rims so that they can penetrate difficult-to-seal zones, such as that formed by the irregular surface along the edge of a weld seam, to provide the desired seal.

The concentric groove functions as a heat sink, to impede transfer of heat (originating from the welding operation) through the shell to the seal element. It will be appreciated that the curved length of the shell is limited by the diameter of the pipe to be repaired. There needs to be some margin between the edge of the recess and the edges of the shell. In the absence of the heat sink, the margin has to be large to avoid melting of the seal element. This then limits the diameter of the seal element. The provision of the concentric groove has enabled this margin to be reduced.

In a preferred aspect of the invention, a pipeline repair system is provided which obviates the prior practice of longitudinally welding the first ends of the shells and using lugs to pull the free shell ends together. More particularly, two semi-circular shells are provided. Each is preferably lapped at both ends. The combined length of the shells preferably is such that, when they are tightly clamped against the pipeline, their ends do not abut but the lapped ends may engage or overlap. One shell carries the seal element in a recess, as previously described. The shells and the seal element together form a repair sleeve assembly. An elongated flexible member, such as a chain, is provided. The ends of the chain are secured to a tightening device, such as a scissor clamp actuated by a hydraulic cylinder. Once the shells are emplaced about the pipeline and the chain is holding them in place in contact with the pipeline, the cylinder can then be hydraulically actuated to contract and cause the chain to tighten and press the shells against the pipeline wall. When the hydraulic pressure applied reaches a pre-determined value that equates with inducing a desired hoop stress in the shells, then the free ends of the shells are welded longitudinally and the end edges of the shells are welded circumferentially to the pipeline, thereby effecting a permanent seal around the leak.

In the course of this procedure, the seal element seals the leak as the shells are pressed against the pipeline wall. It is then safe to carry out welding to complete the repair.

In a more preferred reinforced form of the pipeline repair sleeve system, a pair of split collars are positioned around the pipeline, one on each side of the assembled welded repair sleeve assembly. The collars each have a slightly greater outer diameter than that of the repair sleeve. A second pair of semi-circular shells are mounted around the repair sleeve and bridge between the collars. The second shells are then welded both longitudinally and circumferentially at their ends to the collars. In this way, an oversleeve assembly is provided to reinforce the inner repair sleeve assembly and protect it from bending stresses. The annular space between the repair sleeve assembly and the oversleeve assembly may be filled with a protective filler, such as liquid epoxy.

Broadly stated, the invention comprises, in combination: a steel pipeline containing pressurized fluid and having a defect in its wall and a repair sleeve assembly sealing the aperture, said repair sleeve assembly comprising a pair of substantially semi-circular non-flanged and non-apertured first and second steel shells and a flat, annular seal element retained by the first of the shells, said seal element having top and bottom and inner and outer side surfaces, said first shell having an inner surface which is configured to form an inwardly opening, centrally positioned recess shaped to closely fit and receive the seal element, said inner surface further forming a groove fully encircling the recess in outwardly spaced relation whereby the groove is located between the outer edge of the recess and the side edges of the shell, the seal element being seated in the recess and filling it, so that the seal member is rigidly confined along substantially the full extent of its top and outer side surfaces by the solid surfaces forming the recess and the seal element surrounds the defect and seals against the pipeline surface, the seal element having a central opening that is in communication with the defect, said seal element being formed of flexible deformable resilient material, said shells extending around substantially the entire periphery of the pipeline, said shells having been circumferentially clamped to the pipeline so that the non-recessed portions of their inside surfaces are in tight steel-on-steel contact with the pipeline and the shells are in a stressed state, but the ends of the shells are not abutting, said shells being welded longitudinally and circumferentially in the stressed state to effectively form a pressure vessel with the pipeline.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a section of pipeline having a leak to be repaired;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the seal element;

FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the seal element of FIG. 2, taken along the line A, showing some typical dimensions;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the steel shells;

FIG. 5 is a perspective side view showing the shells clamped on the pipeline by the chain and cylinder assembly;

FIG. 6 is a side view showing the scissor clamp used to tighten the chain;

FIG. 7 is a partly sectional side view showing the full repair sleeve assembly comprising the welded repair sleeve and a reinforcing oversleeve assembly;

FIG. 8 is a plot showing recommended hydraulic cylinder pressures for an Enerpac¹ RCH-603 hydraulic cylinder, which is being used to actuate the scissor clamp of FIG. 6, for various pipeline diameters and internal pressures;

FIG. 9 is a side sectional view showing the seal element in the shell and positioned against a pipeline wall having a defect, said element surrounding the defect, said element being in the uncompressed state;

FIG. 10 is the same as FIG. 9 except that the seal element has now been partly compressed against the wall;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a shell having an annular recess and a concentric, outwardly spaced heat sink groove; and

FIG. 12 is a side sectional view along line A of FIG. 11.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The invention is exemplified by the following example.

A 20 inch outside diameter by 19.25 inch inside diameter steel pipeline 1 had a hairline crack 2, about 0.5 inches in length, in its wall. The pressure within the pipeline during use was about 500 psig.

A seal element 3, formed of flexible, deformable, resilient material, was provided. More particularly, the seal member 3 was formed of an 83 A Durometer urethane.

The seal element 3 was flat, cylindrical and annular in configuration. It formed a central aperture 4 and had inner and outer diameters of 21/8" and 47/8". The main body of the seal element 3 had a vertical extent of 5/16" and on its inner, pipeline-engaging surface 5 it had six inwardly projecting, spaced apart, concentric, continuous, annular ribs 6, each having a height of 1/8". The ribs 6 tapered from a base 7, 1/8" thick, to a pointed rim 8. On its shell-engaging surface 9, the seal element 3 had two ribs 6 of the nature just described.

Two semi-circular steel shells 10, 11 were provided. Each shell had an interior diameter of 20 inches, a thickness of 0.5 inches, and a total length of 15 inches. Each shell was formed with lapped ends 12.

The inner surface 13 of the first shell 10 was formed to provide a circular recess 14, 0.2 inches in depth and 5 inches in diameter, said recess being adapted to snugly receive the seal element 3. In the unclamped condition, the seal element 3 protruded inwardly about 0.25 inches beyond the inner surface 13 of the shell. The lateral and upright surfaces 15, 16 of the recess 14 functioned to support closely and continuously the top and side surfaces 17, 18 of the seal element 3, to thereby prevent substantial upward or sideways extrusion of the seal element 3.

The pipeline surface 19 about the crack 2 was cleaned. The shells 10, 11 were placed about the line with the seal element 3 surrounding the crack 2.

Sheets 20 of high density polyethylene were placed on the outside surfaces of the shells 10, 11. A chain 21 was secured at its ends to the pins 22, 24 of a scissor clamp 25. A hydraulic cylinder 23 was pivotally attached to one arm 25a of the clamp 25 and abutted a rounded shoulder 30 formed by the other clamp arm 25b. The chain 21 extended around the shells 10, 11 and sheets 20, as illustrated. A hydraulic pump (not shown) was hand operated to contract the cylinder 23 until the hydraulic pressure exerted was 5500 psi. This pressure was determined from the curves shown on FIG. 8.

The shell ends 12 were then spot welded with the shells in the stressed condition. The chain, cylinder and sheets were removed and the longitudinal and circumferential welds were completed.

The seal element 3 effectively isolated and sealed the crack 2 during welding.

The split collars 33 were then emplaced about the pipeline and the steel outer shells 34 were welded longitudinally along their ends and circumferentially to the collars 33. The chamber 35 was then filled with liquid epoxy through the port 36 to complete the repair assembly.

Turning now to the modified version shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, an annular recess 100 is formed in the shell 101. The recess 100 is slightly ovalled. A groove 102 is formed in outwardly spaced relation from the recess 100. The recess 100 and groove 102 are centred relative to the side edges of the sleeve. By way of example, one may provide a sleeve having the following dimensions in millimetres:

    ______________________________________                                         sleeve length (Y)     1219                                                     sleeve size nominal    610                                                     seal recess           1016 × 711 OD                                                             868 × 563 ID                                      sleeve thickness       12.7                                                    depth of seal pad groove                                                                               5                                                      dimensions of groove    5 × 5                                            spacing of groove from recess                                                                         25                                                      ______________________________________                                    

It will be understood that the recess 100 and groove 102 need not be circular. The key requirements are that the recess and contained seal element provide full encirclement about the leak and the groove provide full encirclement about the recess in outwardly spaced relation therewith. 

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:
 1. In combination:a steel pipeline containing pressurized fluid and having a defect in its wall and a repair sleeve assembly sealing the defect, said repair sleeve assembly comprising a pair of substantially semi-circular non-flanged and non-apertured first and second steel shells with end edges and side edges and a flat, annular seal element retained by the first of the shells, said seal element having top and bottom and inner and outer side surfaces, said first shell having an inner surface which is configured to form an inwardly opening, centrally positioned recess shaped to closely fit and receive the seal element, said inner surface further forming a groove fully encircling the recess in outwardly spaced relation whereby the groove is located between the outer edge of the recess and the side edges of the shell, the seal element being seated in the recess and filling it, so that the seal member is rigidly confined along substantially the full extent of its top and outer side surfaces by the solid surfaces forming the recess and the seal element surrounds the defect and seals against the pipeline surface, the seal element having a central opening that is in communication with the defect, said seal element being formed of flexible deformable resilient material, said shells extending around substantially the entire periphery of the pipeline, said shells having been circumferentially clamped to the pipeline so that the non-recessed portions of their inside surfaces are in tight steel-on-steel contact with the pipeline and the shells are in a stressed state, but the side edges of the shells are not abutting, said shells being welded longitudinally at the side edges and circumferentially to the pipe at the end edges in the stressed state to effectively form a pressure vessel with the pipeline. 